682
Views
11
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Divergent changes: abstinence and higher-frequency substance use increase among racial/ethnic minority young adults during the COVID-19 global pandemic

ORCID Icon, , , , , , , ORCID Icon, & ORCID Icon show all
Pages 88-99 | Received 18 Dec 2020, Accepted 12 Oct 2021, Published online: 10 Jan 2022
 

ABSTRACT

Background

Identifying factors influencing substance use among racial/ethnic minorities (REM) is important given the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population.

Objectives

We examined factors in four domains and hypothesized that poor mental health, negative coping behaviors, negative environmental aspects, and belonging to more vulnerable social groups would be associated with increased substance use during the pandemic.

Methods

Multiple regression was applied to longitudinal data from a college sample assessed prior (fall 2017 to spring 2019) and during (spring 2020) the pandemic (n= 323; 81.5% cisgender women; 34.5% African-American, 36.1% Asian-American, 15.5% Hispanic/Latinx, 11.8% multi-racial) to identify factors predicting current alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use frequency (spring 2020) and change in frequency of use between springs 2019 and 2020.

Results

While infrequent substance use (monthly or less) decreased during the pandemic, abstinence rates increased (alcohol 39%; cannabis 18%; nicotine 18%) and higher-frequency alcohol use increased (207%-1600% 2–3 times+/week) compared to spring 2019. The strongest protective factor was change in living situation during the pandemic, associated with lower current alcohol and cannabis use. Risk factors included a history of trouble with police and impulsivity since the pandemic, both associated with higher current and increased alcohol and cannabis use. REM did not differ on most factors and the outcomes. However, a higher percentage of Asian-Americans than other REM reported living situation changes.

Conclusion

Substance use rates diverged during the pandemic, with both increased abstinence and higher-frequency use, attributed mostly to mental health and environmental domain factors with few REM differences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

Spit for Science has been supported by Virginia Commonwealth University [P20 AA017828, R37AA011408, K02AA018755, P50 AA022537, and K01AA024152] from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and [UL1RR031990] from the National Center for Research Resources and National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research. This research was also supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number [U54DA036105] and the Center for Tobacco Products of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the NIH or the FDA. Data from this study are available to qualified researchers via dbGaP (phs001754.v2.p1). TA Hicks is supported by NIDA [F31DA048559]. RE Peterson is supported by NIMH [K01MH113848] and The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD grant [28632] P&S Fund. J Vassileva is supported by NIDA [R01DA021421].

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 987.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.